Bhubaneswar: The temple city will witness the second edition of .Fest in January 2023. The Hockey World Cup will happen in just a few months.
There was a review meeting held under the chairmanship of the Development Commission cumAddl. Chief Secretary with the presence of senior officials from all concerned departments like Sports, Tourism, Housing and Urban Development, Commissionerate Police, Power, NHAI with senior officials of Sundergarh District Administration.
There were four main action points identified and assigned to related government agencies as part
of the preparations for .FEST and the transformation of the city. It was decided to improve
Priority Road Network (PRN) consisting of about 80 km of roads past the main attractions and
priority areas in Bhubaneswar.
Similarly, it has been decided that no digging of roads will be done by any agency and department especially WATCO, GAIL and ISPs with effect from 01-Dec-22 without prior approval of BMC.
Items like night bazaar and city beautification activities are to be supported by Textiles and Handlooms Department and Odia Language, Literature and Culture Department.
It was decided at the meeting to form an Executive Committee for the celebration of the city and
Beautification under the chairmanship of VC-BDA. Senior officials from BMC, Workers Department,
DoT, DSYS, Police Department, BSCL, TPCODL, WATCO, NHAI and OFDC will be part of this
committee.
Bhubaneswar hosted the 2018 Hockey World Cup with a special city festival
a celebration of food, fun, art and trails. The city was festive for the last time in
2018 before experiencing Fani in 2019 and Covid from 2020.
Therefore, the second edition of .FEST aims to celebrate the city as an urban tourism destination. The festival will include components such as a photo exhibition and installations, city trails, heritage walks, an international food festival, a food truck carnival and a night market to bring the festive atmosphere to the city for 15 days.
“The Night Bazaar and BhuFeSto (Bhubaneswar Storytelling Festival) will captivate
visitors from all over the world and help them get to know Odisha better, said the BDA Vice Chairman,
Shri Balwant Singh.
He also added that .FEST 2023 has a lot to offer in the form of entertainment and performances. “We have planned to accommodate the traditional performance forms of Odisha along with music and performances by groups from the state to last for 15 days. There will be week-long star-studded evenings of various artistes of international repute,” added the VC, BDA.
The meeting was also focused on organizing STAMP (Street Art and Mural Project) in more
holistic way by involving various arts colleges in the city and the state. It was decided to go on board
artists of national and international repute in consultation with the central and state Lalit Kala
An academy for things like art development, murals, sculptures and murals, etc
select public spaces.
“We are very much committed to making it a community-led festival from concept to execution and urge the citizens of the city to own their own city festival,” added VC BDA. Citizens are requested to ensure complete cleanliness and discipline while hosting the World Cup and .FEST, he added.
“IAL, as part of its preparations, has already launched the tender for participation in an event
a management agency of national repute to organize and conduct the city festival,” said Kabindra Kumar Sahu, secretary, BDA.
It is noted that as part of the festival, there will Similarly, Bhubaneswar Urban Knowledge
The Center, a unit of IAL works closely with BMC and other key design agencies
various placemaking initiatives in the city as part of priority city beautification.